Some politicians who claim to be the representatives of the Sunnis in Lebanon are inciting their people against other sects and pushing for a civil strife. Through their statements, MPs like Khaled Al-Daher and clerics like Ahmad al-Assir are playing on the string of the sectarian affiliation and pushing their supporters into a clash with the Shiites in Lebanon. The talk about the “rights and dignity of the sect" is nothing but an attempt at igniting the Sunni fears over losing the gains achieved by this sect since the Taef Accord and up until this day; and seeing a new power distribution between the sects where the lion's share is grabbed by the most heavily armed and strongest party. The Lebanese Sunnis have something to fear these days following the bitter experiences they had with Hezbollah and its allies. However, the others sects have equally important fears. The tense speeches of Hezbollah's secretary general indicate that his group is not at its best and that the challenges within Lebanon and in its vicinity have grown and surpassed the famous “power surplus" that Hezbollah has always relied on and brandished on every emergency. On the other hand, the statements of Al-Daher, Al-Assir, their colleague Moueen al-Merehbi and others carry an indication of opportunism. They know that the leadership of the Hariri family has collapsed due to an internal failure on the one hand and the repercussions of the Arab Spring on the other hand (these repercussions are yet to appear in Lebanon). This collapse is irreversible. Thus, they are trying to ride the wave of the Arab revolutions, which they view as Sunni rebellions against the military, familial and sectarian minorities. Whether they admit it or not, they believe that the time of the political fruits' reaping has drawn near now that the Lebanese parliamentary elections are close and since the Syrian regime is steadily progressing towards its inevitable end. In light of this vision, points must be scored against Hezbollah, the local adversary, and its allied groups. This is proved through the fact that Hezbollah is very present in all the statements of the above mentioned MPs and politicians who debate and minutely discuss the accusations against Hezbollah's officials and representatives and who try to outdo them when it comes to the Palestinian and Syrian issue. Hezbollah's leaders have committed, since 2006, an unpardonable string of strategic mistakes that escalated with the launching of the Syrian revolution through the party's unequivocal siding with the regime of Bashar al-Assad and it shoving of its fighters in the fights by the side of the regime's army. All this was based on considerations that have nothing to do with the Lebanese public good. However, the response to these mistakes was equally wrong since the Sunnis were pushed to seclude themselves in previously unseen sectarian ghettos. Hezbollah pushed the Shiites into regional struggles with no benefit whatsoever to them. But on the other hand, some Sunnis are doing nothing but pushing their sect towards intolerance and internal strife. Anyone who has a simple understanding of Lebanon's modern history would know that what the “Neo-Sunnis" are doing is in complete contradiction with the role that this sect has always played starting from Sheikh Mohammad al-Jisr, to Abdel Hamid Karami, to Riad al-Solh, all the way to Rafik al-Hariri: the Sunni sect has always been a mediator and a carrier of the middle ground solutions and major consensuses. However, today's actions have nothing to do with this role as they are closer to a competition over the heritage of the Hariri leadership through an exaggerated sectarian speech, an amplification of the existing threats, and the fabrication of other false threats. The competition among the heirs of the political Harirism started initially with no weapons. However, it recently evolved to brandishing daggers that will actually hit the Sunni sect first if those heirs are allowed to proceed with their transgressions.
